Category Archives: clothing

Flair

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Title: Flair

Informant info: Myself (Garrett Martin), Date: 5/28/16, Location: Hanover, NH, Dartmouth Student, Male, Class of 2018, Went on Canoeing trip.

Type of lore: Material (clothing)

Language: English

Country of Origin: U.S.

Social / Cultural Context: The very beginning of first-year trips, in front of Robinson Hall.  Also many many other times during dartmouth experience including winter carnival and various other social events.

Associated file: There is an image and an article all about flair http://thedartmouth.com/2008/11/21/flair-in-a-box/

Transcript: Obviously this isn’t really specific to trips, it’s just a Dartmouth thing in general, but it was at the beginning of trips in front of Robo where I was first introduced to flair.Flair is just any piece of really crazy, flamboyant or ridiculous clothing that people where for special events. A lot of it is actually passed down from upperclassmen to underclassmen, or collected from thrift stores or wherever you might find something weird. Like some people will wear rainbow colored leggings and tutus or brightly colored onesies or crazy socks, basically the goal is for everything to clash and look as gaudy as possible.

So when I showed up in front of Robo and saw all these people dressed in this wild stuff with dyed hair it was quite the sight, but now it’s become an image that, to me, is quintessentially “Dartmouth”.

Informant/Collector’s comments:  I think the purpose of flair in this case it to set a tone for the trips experience.  It is meant to signal that this ought to be a carefree, fun, accepting and  novel experience that ultimately introduces you the unique culture of the college.

Tags/Keywords:  Flair, Trips, Material Folklore, Clothing

Homecoming Food and Clothing

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  1. Homecoming Food and Clothing
  2. Informant Data: Laura Sim is a 23-year-old, female, senior (‘16) who attends Dartmouth College. She was born in Southern California, but she now resides in Hanover, New Hampshire during the school year.
  3. Type of lore: Material; Genre: ritual
  4. Language: English
  5. Country of Origin: US
  6. Contextual Data: Laura Sim is a senior at Dartmouth College and has participated in homecoming during each of her years on campus.
  7. Item: Every year during homecoming, the school provides hot cider and donuts in front of Collis for students and former students to drink and eat while they watch the bonfire. Students also wear sweaters and t-shirts with their class years on them.
  9. n/a
  10. Informant’s comments: No comment; she simply stated that this is a tradition of many and seemed very happy about it
  11. Collector’s comments: The hot cider and donut ritual helps bond the Dartmouth community through food. The wearing of clothing with students’ class year on it helps the Dartmouth community to identify which grade everyone is in, who has participated in the bonfire before, and it also helps bond the individual classes year after year. These rituals serve to unify the community.
  12. Ritual, food, clothing